Book Review: Max by James Patterson

Title: Max
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride (Book #5)
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 309
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Year Published: 2009
Format: Audiobook

"James Patterson's bestselling Maximum Ride series is back, with Max and the gang as The Protectors. Someone-- or something-- is decimating ships and sea life off Hawaii's coast and Max and her flock find themselves sucked into the Navy's top-secret investigation of the catastrophe. Their objective: Rescue Max's activist mom from a wicked subterranean enemy. The hitch: They must dive deep into dark waters, where gruesome evil dwells... and for high-flying Maximum Ride, could there be anything more terrifying than being trapped in the great abyss? This soaring new adventure takes Maximum Ride and the Flock into terrifying new territory-- fans, hold your breath."

My Rating: 3/5

I took a break from this series for a few months and now being back it was enjoyable. It's not going in the direction that I hoped the story would go, but after the last book, it was at least a bit of an improvement. Easy to listen to and follow, I look forward to listening to the next book in the series and finishing it out.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Final Warning by James Patterson

Title: The Final Warning
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride Series (Book #4)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 256
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Year Published: 2008
Format: Audiobook 

"In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her-- and maybe save the planet while she's at it.

Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control government experiment.

Max and the other members of the FLock-- six kids who share her remarkable ability-- have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the causes of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism-- and escaping government forces who watch the Flock like a hawk.

But even in Antartica, trapped in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world. Maximum Ride is James Patterson's greatest character, a heroine who manages to be human and fearless at once."

My Rating: 1.5/5

This was such a crazy book to listen to. For me, it just came off so preachy. And it was a pretty weird story to hear. They changed the narrator and then the music was still over the top. The more I listen to the audiobooks the more I feel like I'm just too old for this. That being said global warming is a real thing and we do need to take it more seriously. I just can't handle how in your face textbook this book felt overall. Needless to say, going to be taking a break from this series for a while.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

Title: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride (Book #3)
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction,
Pages: 405
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year Published: 2007
Format: Audiobook

"In MAXIMUM RIDE: SAVING THE WORLD AND OTHER EXTREME SPORTS, the time has arrived for Max and her winged "Flock" to face their ultimate enemy and discover their original purpose: to defeat the takeover of "Re-evolution," a sinister experiment to re-engineer a select population into a scientifically superior master race... and to terminate the rest. 
Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel have always worked together to defeat the forces working against them-- but can they save the world when they are torn apart, living in hiding and captivity, halfway across the globe from one another?

My Rating: 2.5/5

I know that this one was supposed to be more dramatic but I just found that it was so repetitive to the ones in the past that I had trouble caring about the world and the characters. I will say that the fight scenes in this were well written and interesting, but other than those I wasn't too invested in anything that was happening. I am looking forward to continuing the series and wonder where the author will take it now that they have a different voice reading them and the characters have a different objective.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Book Review: School's Out- Forever by James Patterson

Title: School's Out- Forever
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride Series (Book #2)
Genre: Paranormal, Science Fiction, Young Adul
Pages: 409
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Year Published: 2006
Format: Audiobook

"In this eagerly awaited follow-up, brave bird-kid Max and her flock are discovered by an FBI agent and forced to go to "school." There is no such thing as an ordinary day as Max deciphers how and when she's supposed to save the world, and she faces her greatest enemy- a clone of herself."

My Rating: 3.5/5

Again I read part of this series when I was probably 14-16 and I really liked it then. So when I saw that my library had all the audiobooks. How could I resist? I think that this series holds up fairly well and would likely be great for people in their teens, but it's a little young for me. And as per usual it's a little dated just due to how far technology has come in the past 13 years. The other thing to note is the audiobook has a lot of music and sound effects. It works ok for me, but it can be a little over the top at times. Just a heads up.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Book Review: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

Title: The Angel Experiment
Author: James Patterson
Series/Standalone: Maximum Ride Series (Book #1)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 413
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Year Published: 2005
Format: Audiobook

"Six unforgettable kids- with no families, no homes- are running for their lives. Max Ride and her best friends have the ability to fly. And that's just the beginning of their amazing powers. But they don't know where they come from, who's hunting them, why they are different from all other humans... and if they're meant to save mankind- or destroy it."

My Rating: 3.25/5

I started to read this series when I was probably in 9th grade. So needless to say to finish the series I had to start a total reread. So this was the beginning. I chose to do the audiobook route this time and I was surprised that it was only 4 hours long. It was enjoyable overall, just read a little young for me at some points. Not that that is surprising considering I am 24. The only real problem I had with the audiobooks were the weird music and sound effect aspects. The story seemed to hold up pretty well surprisingly and I look forward to continuing on. 

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Book Review: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

 Title: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X
Author(s): James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Pages: 220
Publisher: Vision an imprint of Grand Central Publishing
Year Published: 2008

"Daniel X was born with the world's most extraordinary power: the power to create. With his secret ability, he can conjure anything and everything, from the animate objects to living, breathing people. This talent has helped him survive-- but couldn't save his parents from being brutally murdered. Discovering a strange list of names, Daniel vows to complete his father's mysterious mission and hunt down his family's assassin. Now, on his own, he must uncover the dark truth behind an apocalyptic struggle that will determine the fate of all mankind. But hot on his trail is a cunning killer-- one who knows exactly what Daniel X can do."

My Rating: 8/10

This is the second book I've read by James Patterson. I really enjoyed the first one I read by him and thought that I would rate this a ten for sure, but I couldn't seem to get stuck in the story. I enjoyed that the story was based on something we have no idea if it's true or not. It gives me the chills that I'm not sure what's really out there. James Patterson is amazing at working with the unknown. He makes things believable but friendly in a way as well. The humor in the story lightens it so the book isn't filled a dragging depression. Thank goodness. I was drawn in to the super powers thing, but it wasn't quite as I expected...
THANK YOU JAMES PATTERSON AND MICHAEL LEDWIDGE FOR MAKING THE UNKNOWN BELIEVABLE!

 

Next to read is Next Summer by Hailey AbbottLove,
Sidny♥♪♫

Spoiler: The Dangerous Days Of Daniel X by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

I'd like to start this spoiler off with a little fact about me. I don't usually read the description on the back of the book. For many readers, this is thought unthinkable, but here I am, a book reviewer who doesn't like the descriptions. See, to me, the descriptions leave nothing to the imagination and if they do, they tend to make the book sound better than it actually is. I feel better if I trust my own judgement.
So now maybe you understand why some of the books I've read haven't disappointed me as much as they might have, say if I had read the back.
This book is a perfect senario, I would have given this book a 5 if I had read the back first. But all and all this book was good. Not great or perfect, just good. I enjoyed the out of this world, literally, story telling. James Patterson did a great job with the character of Daniel but I found the other characters lacking.

Characters:Daniel: Oh boy, where do I start?! This kid is insanely smart!!! He makes Sheldon Cooper look like a dumb a**. He just knows things and I hoped that his superpower to create would be used to save humanity a little more one on one. I love Spiderman, so this whole fight a huge planet of aliens kind of lost on me. I wished that he had more of a damsel in distress, or a partner something that made me relate to the character a little bit more.

Seth: The source of evil in this book is named Seth, a horse headed alien who is also a major director in hollywood. I couldn't quite picture Seth because of my love for horses, but all and all he seemed very frightening. The Penelope act was GENIOUS! What better to trap a teenage boy than through his hormones?

Drang: I decided to treat these four as one characters as they aren't very complicated. I find it funny that Daniel is in love with Dana, his own creation. Mainly the group is there for Daniel in his time of need, even though they came from his mind.

Grandma Blaleen: By far my favorite character, she just seems like the regular grandma. You know, pinching your cheeks, baking cookies, doing surgery with gardening tools... :P

Favorite Lines & Moments:
♥Pg. 40
"And if you think about it, creating is the best superpower of them all. It's a whole lot better than being part spider."

♥Pg. 86
"By the way, I'm not crazy for thinking elephants are completely amazing. You will too when you know this true story: Elephants were brought to Earth about three million years ago. From my planet. It was my people's gift to Terra Firma."

♥Pg. 117
"I don't know about you, but whenever I'm slimed and hog-tied in the stow-and-go seat  well of a minivan, I tend to do a little soul-searching."

Hope you enjoyed.
Love,
Sidny ♥♪♫